General Motors made $2.5 billion in the second quarter.
That’s slightly more than GM’s cross-town rival, Ford Motor Company made in the same period. Ford made $2.4 billion.
But both companies are forecasting a dip in profitability in the second half of this year.
Most of GM’s second quarter profit came from North America, as truck and Chevrolet brand car sales rebounded. North American President Mark Reuss says the strong performance came despite the slow economy and some unexpected events.
“I didn’t think the debt ceiling crisis was going to happen, " Reuss told reporters at an annual auto industry conference in Traverse City. "I didn’t think the tsunami was going to happen, all those things you don’t know what’s going to happen. But if you’ve got a business and an operational model that can handle it and adapt quickly, then I think that’s the key."
General Motors may have beaten analysts’ expectations, but the company is not yet meeting investors’ expectations.
This is GM’s sixth quarterly profit in a row, a dramatic improvement compared to the years leading up to the bankruptcy.
But the company’s stock price has remained several dollars lower than the initial public offering price for months now.
Reuss says there are some things the company can’t control and some that it can.
"We just gotta keep the hammer down and keep absolutely focused on customer satisfaction and our products and it will drive the results."
Even after the IPO, the U.S. Treasury is still the biggest shareholder in GM, at 26%. GM’s stock would have to dramatically improve for the Treasury to break even on its investment in the company.
